Scrolling method and apparatus using plurality of blocks into which items are classified

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for adjusting scrolling speed according to the location of an item currently being highlighted on a screen in a block containing the item. The method includes: measuring a distance between the item currently being highlighted on the screen and a last item of the block containing the item; and reducing the scrolling speed if the measured distance is smaller than a predefined value. Therefore, it is possible for a user to identify the location of desired data while quickly scrolling through a considerable amount of data on a screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority fromKorean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0044235, filed on May 25, 2005, inthe Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Devices, systems, and methods consistent with the invention relate toscrolling through a plurality of items, and more particularly, toadjusting the speed of scrolling through a plurality of items, and thusenhancing the efficiency of searching through the items.

2. Description of the Related Art

Scrolling is a method of enabling a plurality of items to be displayedtogether on a single screen, and is widely used in desktop computers,personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and MP3 players.However, as the number of items to be displayed together on a screenincreases, the efficiency of searching through the items by scrollingdecreases. With recent developments in storage media and a greatincrease in an amount of data that is capable of being stored in variousdevices, various methods of searching through a considerable amount ofdata by adjusting the speed of scrolling through a plurality of items,either continually or incrementally over stages, have been suggested.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a related-art scrolling method.Referring to FIG. 1, in operation 110, scrolling is performed inresponse to user input. In operation 130, if it is determined inoperation 120 that the scrolling has continued for more than apredetermined amount of time, it is determined whether to increase thescrolling speed. Thereafter, in operation 140, if the scrolling speedhas not yet reached its maximum, the scrolling speed is increased, andthe method returns to operation 110. On the other hand, if it isdetermined in operation 130 that the scrolling speed has already reachedits maximum, the method returns directly to operation 110 withoutincreasing the scrolling speed. In this manner, even after the scrollingspeed is increased in operation 140, it may be increased againcontinually or incrementally as long as the scrolling continues, and aslong as the maximum scrolling speed has not been reached.

This scrolling method illustrated in FIG. 1 does not require repetitiveuser manipulations and can enable a user to search through aconsiderable amount of information within a short period of time.However, when scrolling through a plurality of items at high speed, theuser may accidentally scroll past a desired item or may not be able todetermine the location of the desired item relative to other items, thusmaking it difficult to efficiently search for the desired item.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a scrolling method and apparatus in which itemsare classified into a plurality of blocks and the speed of scrollingthrough a plurality of the items displayed on a screen can be adjustedwith reference to the locations of the items in the blocks such that acursor can jump from one block to another.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a method ofscrolling through a plurality of items that are classified into aplurality of blocks. The method includes: measuring a distance between acurrent item currently being highlighted on a screen and a last item ofthe block containing the current item; and controlling scrolling speedwith reference to the measured distance.

According to another aspect of the invention, the controlling mayinclude increasing the scrolling speed if the measured distance isgreater than a predefined value.

According to another aspect of the invention, the controlling mayinclude reducing the scrolling speed if the measured distance is smallerthan a predefined value.

According to another aspect of the invention, the controlling mayinclude maintaining the scrolling speed at a predetermined levelcorresponding to the measured distance.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-readable medium storing a computer program for executing themethod of scrolling through a plurality of items.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided anapparatus for scrolling through and displaying a plurality of items thatare classified into a plurality of blocks. The apparatus includes: adistance measurement unit which measures a distance between a currentitem currently being highlighted on a screen and a last item of theblock containing the current item; and a scrolling control unit whichcontrols scrolling speed with reference to the measured distance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects of the invention will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a related-art scrolling method;

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a scrolling method according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a scrolling method according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a scrolling apparatus according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 5A through 5D are examples of a screen displayed by a scrollingapparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described below byreference to the attached Figures. The described exemplary embodimentsare intended to assist the understanding of the invention, and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a scrolling method according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, all itemsare classified into a plurality of blocks according to theircharacteristics. For example, the items may be various types of datasuch as music files, documents, and names and addresses registered in anaddress book, and may be classified into a plurality of blocks accordingto various standards. For example, the items may be classified into aplurality of blocks according to the first letters of their names,according to their file sizes, or according to the dates of their mostrecent updates.

Referring to FIG. 2, in operation 210, scrolling begins. In operation220, if the scrolling continues for more than a predetermined amount oftime, the scrolling speed is increased continually or incrementally overstages while performing the scrolling. In operation 230, the scrollingspeed is decreased when a boundary between a pair of adjacent blocksapproaches. In operation 240, the scrolling speed is increased againafter the block boundary is passed. In operation 250, a user may input ablock skip command using an input device while the scrolling isperformed or even when the scrolling is not performed. Then, inoperation 260, a current block is skipped, thereby jumping to asubsequent block and highlighting a first item of the subsequent block.The user can use the block skip command to skip blocks until a blockcontaining a desired item is displayed on a screen, and thus does notneed to scroll through all items included in blocks other than the blockcontaining the desired item.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a scrolling method according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3, in operation305, it is determined whether a user inputs a block skip signal using aninput device.

In operation 310, if a block skip signal is detected, a current block isskipped, thereby jumping to a subsequent block and highlighting a firstitem included in the subsequent block on a screen. The block skippingoperation may be performed at any time before, after, or duringscrolling.

In operation 320, a scrolling apparatus performs scrolling at apredefined initial speed in response to a user input.

In operation 325, it is determined whether the scrolling continues formore than a predetermined amount of time.

In operation 360, if the scrolling does not continue for more than thepredetermined time, the method ends.

In operation 330, if the scrolling operation does continue for more thanthe predetermined time, the scrolling apparatus measures a distancebetween an item (hereinafter referred to as the current item) currentlybeing highlighted on a screen and a last item of a block containing thecurrent item. The scrolling apparatus may be any type of device whichcan display data, for example, a desktop computer, a PDA, a mobilephone, or an MP3 player.

In operation 335, it is determined whether the measured distance isgreater than a first predefined value (e.g., if the number of itemsbetween the current item and the last item of the block containing thecurrent item is much greater than the number of items between a firstitem of the block containing the current item and the current item).

In operation 340, if the measured distance is greater than the firstpredefined value used in operation 335, the scrolling apparatusincreases the scrolling speed. The scrolling apparatus may increase thescrolling speed continually or incrementally over two or more stages.

In operation 345, it is determined if the measured distance is smallerthan a second predefined value (e.g., if the number of items between thecurrent item and the last item of the block containing the current itemis much smaller than the number of items between the first item of theblock containing the current item and the current item).

In operation 350, if the measured distance is smaller than the secondpredefined value used in operation 345, the scrolling apparatus reducesthe scrolling speed and notifies the user that the subsequent block isapproaching. If the measured distance is not smaller than the secondpredefined value, the method returns to operation 320.

In the method shown in FIG. 3, the scrolling speed may have maximum andminimum values. Thus, the scrolling apparatus may be prevented fromincreasing/decreasing the scrolling speed over/below the maximum/minimumspeed.

Further, in blocks having a small number of items, the user may not havedifficulty scrolling through all the items, because it would not takelong to search through the items. Therefore, the scrolling apparatus maynot change the scrolling speed for such blocks.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a scrolling apparatus 400 according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, thescrolling apparatus 400 includes an input/output unit 410, a blockclassification unit 420, a display unit 430, a scrolling control unit440, a distance measurement unit 450, and a database 460.

The input/output unit 410 is an interface between the scrollingapparatus 400 and a user. The user may input commands to the scrollingapparatus 400 using the input/output unit 410. The input/output unit 410may be a button, a touch screen, a keyboard, or a mouse for receivinguser input.

The block classification unit 420 classifies a plurality of items to bedisplayed on a screen into a plurality of blocks according to thecharacteristics of the items. The user may decide using the input/outputunit 410 whether the items are to be classified into a plurality ofblocks according to a desired standard or an arbitrary standard. Inother words, the user may decide to classify the items into a pluralityof blocks according to the first letters of the names of the items oraccording to the file sizes of the items, as described above.Alternatively, the user may arrange the items on the screen in a certainmanner and then classify the items into a plurality of blocks withreference to the arrangement.

The display unit 430 displays the items, and the database 460 storesinformation regarding the items which is needed for scrolling throughthe items.

The distance measurement unit 450 measures a distance between a currentitem and a last item of a block containing the current item (i.e., thenumber of items between the current item and the last item of the blockcontaining the current item).

The scrolling control unit 440 controls the scrolling speed withreference to the location of an item, increasing the scrolling speed ifthe distance measured by the distance measurement unit 450 during thescrolling is greater than a predefined value, and reducing the scrollingspeed if the distance measured by the distance measurement unit 450during the scrolling is smaller than a second predefined value. Here,the scrolling control unit 440 may adjust the scrolling speedcontinually or incrementally over stages while preventing the scrollingspeed from increasing over a predefined maximum or decreasing below apredefined minimum. When the user inputs a block skip command to thescrolling apparatus 400 via the input/output unit 410, the scrollingcontrol unit 440 skips the block containing the current item and jumpsto a block subsequent to the block containing the current item, and thedisplay unit 430 displays a first item of the subsequent block.

FIGS. 5A through 5D illustrate examples of a screen displayed by ascrolling apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIGS. 5A through 5D, a plurality of items areclassified into a plurality of blocks in such a manner that items whosenames begin with the same letter belong to the same block, and the itemsare arranged in each block in alphabetical order.

Referring to FIG. 5A, scrolling begins with a first item “ABBA” of afirst block including items whose names begin with the letter “A”. Oncethe scrolling begins, the scrolling speed is increased continually orincrementally in stages.

Referring to FIG. 5B, as a second block including items whose namesbegin with the letter “B” approaches, the scrolling speed is reduced.

Referring to FIG. 5C, once the boundary between the first and secondblocks is passed, the scrolling speed is increased again.

Referring to FIG. 5D, if a user inputs a block skip command whilescrolling through the items of the second block, the second block isskipped, thereby jumping to a third block including items whose namesbegin with the letter “C” and highlighting a first item “Cats” of thethird block on the screen.

FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 6, thehorizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents scrollingspeed, and blocks 1 through 3 are sequentially scrolled through. In thisexemplary embodiment, the scrolling speed in a block is determinedaccording to the quantity of items to be scrolled through, and does notcontinually increase or decrease throughout a block or between a pair ofadjacent blocks.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 6, it block 1, the scrolling speeddoes not change, but is maintained at a first level corresponding to thenumber of items included in block 1. Next, since block 2 has more itemsthan block 1, as soon as the boundary between blocks 1 and 2 is passed,the scrolling speed is increased to a second level which corresponds tothe number of items included in block 2 and is thus higher than thefirst level. If a user stops scrolling through block 2 and then resumesthe scrolling later, the scrolling speed is reduced to a third levelwhich corresponds to the number of items between the item where thescrolling has been stopped and a first item of block 3, and is thuslower than the second level. Next, since block 3 has fewer items thanblock 1, as soon as the boundary between block 2 and block 3 is passed,the scrolling speed is reduced to a fourth level lower than the firstlevel.

FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 7, thehorizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents scrollingspeed, and blocks 1 through 3 are sequentially scrolled through. In thisexemplary embodiment, the scrolling speed in a block continuallydecreases from an initial level that is determined according to thequantity of items to be scrolled through.

Referring to FIG. 7, the distance between a first item of block 1 and afirst item of block 2 is measured, an initial scrolling speed for block1 is determined with reference to the measured distance, and block 1 isscrolled through at the initial scrolling speed for block 1. Once thescrolling of block 1 begins, the scrolling speed is continuallydecreased from the initial scrolling speed for block 1. When thescrolling speed reaches a predefined minimum, it does not decrease anyfurther and is maintained at the predefined minimum until the scrollingof block 1 is complete.

Next, as soon as the boundary between block 1 and block 2 is passed, thedistance between the first item of block 2 and a first item of block 3(i.e., the quantity of items of block 2) is measured, an initialscrolling speed for block 2 is determined with reference to the measureddistance, and block 2 is scrolled through at the initial scrolling speedfor block 2. Since block 2 has more items than block 1, the initialscrolling speed for block 2 is higher than the initial scrolling speedfor block 1. Once the scrolling of block 2 begins, the scrolling speedcontinually decreases from the initial scrolling speed for block 2. Whenthe scrolling speed reaches the predefined minimum, it does not decreaseany further and is maintained at the predefined minimum until thescrolling of block 2 is complete.

Next, as soon as the boundary between block 2 and block 3 is passed, thedistance between the first item of block 3 and a last item of block 3 ismeasured. Block 3, however, is determined to have so few items thatscrolling speed is not increased. Therefore, block 3 is scrolled throughat the predefined minimum scrolling speed.

FIG. 8 is a graph for explaining a scrolling method according to anotherexemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 8, thehorizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents scrollingspeed, and blocks 1 through 3 are sequentially scrolled. In thisexemplary embodiment, the rate at which the scrolling speed increases ordecreases may vary according to the quantity of items from a currentitem to the last item of the block containing the current item.

Referring to FIG. 8, in block 1, the scrolling speed gradually increasesuntil the quantity of items to be scrolled through reaches a predefinedvalue. Once the quantity of items to be scrolled through reaches thepredefined value, the scrolling speed gradually decreases until itreaches a predefined minimum at a boundary between block 1 and block 2.

Next, in block 2, the scrolling speed gradually increases at a greateracceleration than in block 1. This is because the distance between afirst item of block 2 and a first item of block 3 is measured, and sincethe measured distance is greater than the distance between a first itemof block 1 and the first item of block 2, the scrolling speed isincreased more rapidly in block 2 than in block 1. However, according tothis exemplary embodiment, even if block 2 has twice as many items asblock 2, it does not necessarily take twice as much time to scroll block2 as to scroll block 1.

When a user stops scrolling across block 2 and resumes the scrollinglater, the scrolling speed may not increase, but may be maintained atthe predefined minimum if fewer than a predetermined number of items areleft to be scrolled. Thereafter, block 3 is scrolled.

The invention can be realized as computer-readable code written on acomputer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recordingmedium may be any type of recording device in which data is stored in acomputer-readable manner. Examples of the computer-readable recordingmedium include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc,an optical data storage, and a carrier wave (e.g., data transmissionthrough the Internet).

According to the invention, a plurality of items are classified into aplurality of blocks, and the scrolling speed is adjusted according tothe location of an item currently being highlighted on a screen in ablock containing the item. Therefore, a user can identify the locationof an item currently displayed on a screen relative to the locations ofother items and skip blocks instead of spending much time scrollingthrough all items in each block until a desired item is discovered.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not limitedto these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the following claims.

1. A method of scrolling through a plurality of items that areclassified into a plurality of blocks, the method comprising: measuringa distance between a current item currently being highlighted on ascreen and a last item of a block containing the current item; andcontrolling scrolling speed based on the measured distance.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising classifying the items into theblocks according to characteristics of the items or an external input.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling comprises increasingthe scrolling speed if the measured distance is greater than apredefined value.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the controllingcomprises reducing the scrolling speed if the measured distance issmaller than a predefined value.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thecontrolling comprises maintaining the scrolling speed at a predeterminedlevel corresponding to the measured distance.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the rate at which the scrolling speed changes over time isdetermined based on the measured distance.
 7. The method of claim 3,wherein the increasing the scrolling speed comprises continuallyincreasing the scrolling speed.
 8. The method of claim 3, wherein theincreasing the scrolling speed comprises incrementally increasing thescrolling speed over at least two stages.
 9. The method of claim 3,wherein the controlling further comprises preventing the scrolling speedfrom being increased over a predefined level.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the controlling further comprises preventing the scrolling speedfrom being increased over a predefined level.
 11. The method of claim 4,wherein the decreasing the scrolling speed comprises continuallyreducing the scrolling speed.
 12. The method of claim 4, wherein thedecreasing the scrolling speed comprises incrementally reducing thescrolling speed over at least two stages.
 13. The method of claim 4,wherein the controlling further comprises preventing the scrolling speedfrom being reduced below a predefined level.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the controlling further comprises preventing the scrolling speedfrom being reduced below a predefined level.
 15. The method of claim 1,further comprising, if a predetermined input signal is received,highlighting an item of a block other than the block containing thecurrent item.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the current item isa first item in the block, the measured distance is equivalent to anoverall block distance, and the scrolling speed is controlled to bemaintained at a predetermined level corresponding to the overall blockdistance.
 17. A computer readable medium storing a computer program forexecuting a method of scrolling through a plurality of items that areclassified into a plurality of blocks, the method comprising: measuringa distance between a current item currently being highlighted on ascreen and a last item of a block containing the current item; andcontrolling scrolling speed based on the measured distance.
 18. Thecomputer readable medium storing a computer program for executing themethod of claim 17, the method further comprising classifying the itemsinto the blocks according to characteristics of the items or an externalinput.
 19. The computer readable medium storing a computer program forexecuting the method of claim 17, wherein the controlling comprisesincreasing the scrolling speed if the measured distance is greater thana predefined value.
 20. The computer readable medium storing a computerprogram for executing the method of claim 17, wherein the controllingcomprises reducing the scrolling speed if the measured distance issmaller than a predefined value.
 21. The computer readable mediumstoring a computer program for executing the method of claim 17, whereinthe controlling comprises maintaining the scrolling speed at apredetermined level corresponding to the measured distance.
 22. Anapparatus for scrolling through and displaying a plurality of items thatare classified into a plurality of blocks, the apparatus comprising: adistance measurement unit which measures a distance between a currentitem currently being highlighted on a screen and a last item of a blockcontaining the current item; and a scrolling control unit which controlsscrolling speed based on the measured distance.
 23. The apparatus ofclaim 22, further comprising a block classification unit whichclassifies the items into the blocks according to characteristics of theitems or a user input.
 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein thescrolling control unit increases the scrolling speed if the measureddistance is greater than a predefined value.
 25. The apparatus of claim22, wherein the scrolling control unit reduces the scrolling speed ifthe measured distance is smaller than a predefined value.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 22, wherein the scrolling control unit maintains thescrolling speed at a predetermined level corresponding to the measureddistance.